Microsoft announces $15.2bn UAE investment to boost AI and cloud - Assalamu alaikum
Assalamu alaikum - Microsoft says it will invest $15.2 billion in the UAE from 2023 to 2029 to help build the country’s AI and cloud infrastructure.
Company leaders and Abu Dhabi officials discussed the plan recently, and Microsoft says the money will go toward expanding AI and digital infrastructure, training local talent, and funding R&D projects. The firm says part of the goal is not just growing its business but also contributing to the local economy by linking technology, skill development and trust.
From 2023 through the end of this year Microsoft reports it has already spent over $7.3 billion in the UAE. That includes a $1.5 billion equity investment in a UAE AI and cloud company last year, roughly $4.6 billion in capital spending on AI and cloud datacentres, and over $1.2 billion in operating expenses and goods bought locally.
Between 2026 and 2029 the company plans to spend more than $7.9 billion, including over $5.5 billion for further expansion of AI and cloud infrastructure and nearly $2.4 billion in local operating costs.
Microsoft also secured licences to bring advanced Nvidia GPUs into the UAE to support Azure AI services, and says it has worked with both the US and UAE governments to meet cybersecurity, export control and responsible AI standards.
The UAE has been investing in AI as part of its push for a diversified, knowledge-based economy. Officials and tech leaders praised examples of government services that use AI to simplify tasks for citizens, and there are joint UAE–US plans for a large AI campus in Abu Dhabi to host regional AI data centres.
Microsoft has also signed deals to work with local companies on embedding AI across industries and on sustainable energy projects to support data-centre growth. The company opened a global engineering development centre and an AI for Good Lab in Abu Dhabi, and has pledged training for one million people in the UAE by 2027, including thousands of government workers, students and teachers.
May Allah grant benefit from responsible technological development and skills for our communities.
https://www.thenationalnews.co